


One Perfect Day

by notjustmom



Series: Ironstrange [53]
Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Established Tony Stark/Stephen Strange, Irondad, M/M, Peter is a toddler, spiderson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-10
Updated: 2019-07-10
Packaged: 2020-06-25 21:19:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19754014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notjustmom/pseuds/notjustmom
Summary: A gift fic for the lovely msbenedict, who allowed me to revisit my Stark, Strange, Parker family from the Christmas stories, as she asked for a bit of Peter as a toddler...





	One Perfect Day

**Author's Note:**

  * For [msbenedict](https://archiveofourown.org/users/msbenedict/gifts).



“What?”

“What do you mean, what?” Stephen asked, unaware that he had been staring at Tony for the last ten minutes with an odd look on his face.

“Is there jam, or egg in my hair leftover from breakfast, or something?”

“No… it’s just -” He found it difficult to put into words exactly what he was feeling at the moment.

Tony rolled his eyes as he pushed Peter in the baby swing that he was nearly too big for now, at almost three years of age. 

“I didn’t think - before I met you - when I was a kid, that I’d ever have this kind of contentment in my life. Even when I was at Kamar-Taj, I’d sit for hours at a time, trying to meditate, searching for something to ground myself, but nothing fills me up so completely as the two of you, and yet at the same time, I’ve never felt lighter, or breathed easier, there’s no other way to explain it. I know it’s ridiculous -”

Tony sighed and shook his head. “No. It isn’t. I feel that way when I come home from a mission, and find you at the window, with Peter in your arms, pointing out the constellations or telling him stories of distant galaxies, and other dimensions, or when the two of you are fast asleep on the couch when the sun is coming up…” He smiled as Peter squealed with delight as the light breeze blew through his auburn curls, then glanced up at Stephen, and shrugged. “Before I knew you, I didn’t believe I’d ever have a family of my own, not a real one, one I chose for myself. There are nights when I’ll just stand there for an hour and watch as you sleep. No matter how hard a day I’ve had, just knowing -”

“Da!” Peter bellowed from the swing, “slide!”

Tony laughed as he slowed the swing down, then eased him gently from the bucket and hoisted him onto his shoulders then walked over to the slide. “As you wish, Master Pete.”

“Fast!!” 

“Not too fast, hmm, kiddo?” Tony murmured into his hair as he set him on the ground and watched as he climbed the steps to the tallest slide in the park. “He’s just growing up too fast,” he whispered as he felt Stephen’s arms wrap around him from behind and he leaned back against him.

“Doc! Watch!” Peter yelled from the top of the slide.

Stephen called back, “I’m watching Pete, I’m watching.” He took a breath and held it until Peter was safely back on the ground.

“Ta-DA!” Peter squeaked happily and Tony rested his hands on Stephen’s, then whispered, “now, where else can you find magic like that?”

“You. You are magic - you’ve always taken my breath away, from the moment we met.”

“I love you, too.” Tony sighed and closed his eyes as Stephen kissed his shoulder.

“More, more, more!” Peter chanted as he climbed the ladder again.

“Thing is,” Tony began quietly, “I can’t remember ever playing with my dad - I don’t remember a single time when he pushed me on a swing at the park, or tossed a baseball with me. What I have are memories of my butler doing his best. To my father, I think I was an annoying appendage until I was old enough to be useful to him. I want Peter to always know how much he is wanted, and how much I love him.”

“He already does. Look at him, Tony. Look at how happy he is - he knows.” They both watched as Peter squealed with delight again as he flew down the slide ending in a rough bump in the dirt. They froze, but he didn’t cry or make a sound. He simply got up, dusted himself off, then ran over to the ladder and climbed up again, pausing at the top to blow his fathers a kiss before he flung his arms in the air and flew down the slide once more, landing on his feet this time.

“Ice cream!” He shrieked as he heard the tell-tale music of the ice cream truck nearby.

Stephen shook his head at him, but winked at Tony as he lifted Peter into his arms and kissed the little boy’s nose. “Ice cream, it is.”

“You’ll spoil him,” Tony warned him lightly with a laugh afterwards, as he wiped off the ice cream that had mostly ended up on Peter’s face and hands.

Stephen shook his head again, and kissed Tony’s forehead, then drew back and looked into the dark brown eyes that were beginning to tear up. “No, I think he’ll just remember this day on days when life is hard as one of the most perfect days he ever had.”


End file.
